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SEOUL, Apr 21: South Korea will summon Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong-koo on Monday for questioning over allegations the group was involved in illegal political lobbying, a prosecutor said on Friday.

The announcement comes two days after Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top auto maker, apologised over the bribery scandal and said its chairman's family would donate $1 billion to charity.

''We will summon Chung Mong-koo at 10 a.m. (0100 GMT) on Monday,'' Chae Dong-wook, a senior prosecutor at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, told reporters.

Prosecutors summoned the Hyundai chairman's son, Chung Eui-sun, who is the president of Hyundai affiliate Kia Motors Corp., on Thursday as part of a probe into allegations of illegal political lobbying involving slush funds and management transfer of the group.

Prosecutors said Chung Eui-sun was questioned into the early hours of Friday and that they might summon him again later for further questioning.

Chae said the investigation related to suspected slush funds and other alleged wrongdoing at the group was in its final stages.

On Wednesday, Hyundai Motor said Chung Mong-koo and Chung Eui-sun would donate to charity their entire 60 percent stake in auto shipper affiliate Glovis, worth 1 trillion won ($1.06 billion).

Following that announcement, prosecutors had said the donation would not alter the course of their investigation.

Prosecutors have been looking into whether Hyundai operated slush funds and offered cash for political favours via a lobbyist.

The probe also touches on how the country's sprawling family-run conglomerates, or chaebol, shift money within group companies, using complex share ownership networks to control their businesses.

Hyundai shares, which have dropped nearly 10 percent so far this year, fell 1.48 percent to 88,400 won by 0550 GMT, trailing the broader market's 1.08 percent rise.

REUTERS